What We Believe
The Holy Trinity
There is one living and true God, everlasting, having infinite power, wisdom and goodness; who is the maker of all things. We know God as three persons who are all of the same substance, power and eternity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus
We believe that Jesus is the Son of God. While He was fully God He became fully human when He was born of a virgin. He was crucified, dead, and buried to be a sacrifice for our sinfulness. We believe that Jesus really did come to life again on the third day, that He is now alive and sitting at the right hand of God, and that He will come again to judge the world on the last day.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is one with God, of the same substance, and therefore is God. The Spirit is God’s abiding presence with us at all times.
The Bible
The Bible contains everything that is needed for salvation. Anything that cannot be found in the Bible or proved by it shall not be required as an article of faith nor shall it be necessary for salvation.
Original Sin
We believe that humans are naturally selfish and tend to follow their own way rather than listening to God.
Grace
There is nothing that we can do on our own to get right with God. It is only by God’s grace that we come to know Him and that we are able to follow in His way.
Justification
We are in relationship with God only through the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are under His grace when we accept His death and resurrection by faith, and don’t count on the good things that we do to make us worthy.
Sin After Accepting Christ
We believe that not every sin that is committed after we are saved is unforgivable. We believe that “all sin and fall short of the glory of God” and that includes people who call themselves Christians. If someone sins after being in Christ, it is hoped that they will seek to change, so that by God’s grace they can be restored to the community of Christ.
Sacraments
There are two sacraments that Jesus asks us to remember in the Bible: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Baptism
Baptism is a statement of faith designed to show that Christians are different than the average person. Baptism is a sign that the person has accepted Christ as CEO and is living a new life.
The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper is a sign of the love that Christians ought to have for each other just as it is a reminder of our salvation through Jesus’ death. When we eat the bread and drink the juice they do not literally become Jesus’ body and blood. But when we receive them by faith, they become, in a spiritual sense, the body and blood of Christ.
Sanctification
Sanctification is the renewal of our fallen nature when we have faith in Jesus Christ. When we are sanctified we are released from the guilt of sin, washed from its polluting effects, saved from its power, and enabled to love God with all our hearts and do His will.
Homosexuality
“Homosexual persons… are individuals of sacred worth. Although, we do not condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice incompatible with Christian teaching, we affirm that God’s grace is available to all.”
Marriage
“We affirm the sanctity of the marriage covenant that is expressed in love, mutual support, personal commitment, and shared fidelity between a man and a woman. We believe that God's blessing rests upon such marriage, whether or not there are children of the union. We reject social norms that assume different standards for women than for men in marriage. We support laws in civil society that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”
A Confessing Church
In the last several years many in the United Methodist Church have sought to change our Articles of Religion through deliberate acts of disobedience and the teaching of wrong doctrines. This has unfortunately been played out in the public eye. In response our congregation has joined the Confessing Movement within the UMC as a statement of our faith and our unswerving commitment to professing Jesus Christ as Son, Savior and Lord. Learn more about the Confessing Movement at www.confessingumc.org.